Six months after publicly unveiling its downtown sports district ambitions, the city is sharing its public outreach plans.
SAN ANTONIO — The City of San Antonio is now several months deep into public conversations regarding Project Marvel, its dream for an ambitious downtown sports and entertainment district to enliven the heart of the city.
To the chagrin of mayoral candidates and some City Council members, there’s been a lack of organized public forums where residents can chime in on the project reportedly in the works for a few years but not officially unveiled until November 2024. That changes in June, when workshops will be held all around the community for San Antonians to weigh in.
The outreach effort will coincide with major changes at City Hall, when a new mayor and a handful of new City Council members get to work.
“I think the sooner (community engagement) starts, the better,” City Manager Erik Walsh said Thursday. “Because ultimately, yes, we’re going to have a transition here within a month… and I think they’re going to be looking for the same type of report in terms of feedback from the public.”
Ten two-day workshops – one in each City Council district – will take place this summer, the first ones starting sometime in June, according to Walsh, with specific dates and locations not yet determined. In its memorandum of understanding with the Spurs and Bexar County for a downtown basketball arena, a deadline of early April to come up with a community outreach plan was determined.
Assistant City Manager Lori Houston said the two-day forums will likely take place over Monday/Tuesday or Tuesday/Wednesday. Once dates for the summer workshops are determined, community members can sign up for them here.
City officials called the upcoming forums as “charettes,” referring to intensive, hands-on workshops intended to bring together different sections of a community. Attendees will be asked for their input on the design and infrastructure of Project Marvel through focus groups and stakeholder meetings, with an effort to include small business owners who can help shape the best fan experience for Project Marvel.
This is all part of the opening phase of the city’s public engagement plan, which will also delve into affordable housing and small business involvement. It will, additionally, provide an avenue for residents to discuss their concerns related to gentrification and displacement, Houston said.
Phase 2 of the public engagement plan, expected to begin sometime in the fall, will be about setting public expectations regarding development in a city where orange barrels are about as common as breakfast tacos. Able City, a Miami-based urban planning firm, will help the city collect and organize the feedback so it can be incorporated into overarching Project Marvel planning.
“These charettes will not only be about getting information,” Houston said, “but also to be able to get more details on the specific concerns they’ve expressed from the past couple months.”
Houston added those concerns range from parking and infrastructure to affordable housing and funding. Mayoral runoff candidate Gina Ortiz Jones and Rolando Pablos are among that group; Ortiz Jone, in particular, has expressed she doesn’t want the city to foot the bill for a new Spurs arena without getting more clarity first.
The city recently discussed a possible funding framework for the new Spurs arena, of which officials have cited five potential revenue sources. But, Walsh reiterated Thursday, “there’s no term sheet.”
“Decisions haven’t been made,” he added. “There may be folks that think this is done. It’s far from it.”
Rather, he said, officials plan to update City Council on the possible funding framework and infrastructure in June—giving the public the freshest information before heading to the charettes shortly after.
“We’ve been working on developing a plan that we think is on target in terms of what the council is looking for, and, I think from the city’s perspective, is necessary as we go through a large process like this,” Walsh said. “So I don’t think we’re too late or too early—I think we’re on schedule with what we said earlier in the year.”
Project Marvel encompasses several “anchor” projects like the construction of a new Spurs arena in Hemisfair, the expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and, eventually, major Alamodome renovations.